Defense Business Briefing -- February 28, 2023

Welcome to today's Defense Business Briefing, your weekly roundup of the latest defense industry news.

This week's top story

Business groups recommend FMS reforms to DOD 'tiger team' as Biden overhauls arms controls

Amid the release of the Biden administration's revised arms export policy, three leading defense business associations have sent recommendations to a special Pentagon "tiger team" charged with accelerating the U.S. foreign military sales process, especially for Taiwan, which senior military officials -- alarmed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- have said could be invaded by China in the coming years.

News & notes

Oshkosh CEO on JLTV contract loss: Company is 'not interested in being a low-margin, commodity-type supplier'

In the wake of losing a recent potential $8 billion Joint Light Tactical Vehicle contract, Oshkosh is "not interested in being a low-margin, commodity-type supplier," according to company President and CEO John Pfeifer.

DOD small business chief to restart Rapid Innovation Fund

The Pentagon is planning to bring back the Rapid Innovation Fund -- a pot of money initially created to help small technology companies bridge "the valley of death" that hasn't been funded for several years.

What's happening

The week ahead

Senior defense officials are scheduled to appear before Congress this week and are also slated to speak at several think tank events.

For Inside Defense subscribers

How the Air Force and Boeing went 'out to Hollywood' to find a fix for RVS

Since the disclosure of critical issues with the KC-46's Remote Vision System in 2018, finding a fix for RVS -- whose troubles have stretched out the tanker's schedule and served as a leading reason for billions of dollars in losses on the aircraft -- has been a top priority for Boeing, and after years of effort, company executives are ready to unveil their solution.

DOD now treating long-term aviation plan -- once public -- as controlled unclassified info

The Defense Department has completed a new, long-term aviation inventory and funding report, and -- in a major break with prior practice -- will no longer make the document public, withholding from scrutiny investment plans for one of the government's largest portfolios that cost more than $50 billion annually to support about 14,000 aircraft.